The Color of Money

I end my discussion of Paul Newman films with 1986's The Color of Money, directed by Martin Scorsese, in which Newman reprised the role of Fast Eddie Felson twenty-five years after The Hustler. It earned Newman an elusive Oscar (though the year before he was bestowed an honorary statuette from the Academy).

The film is about aging and passing the torch to the young, and that theme resonates in the plot as well as the back-story. Newman of course was a big star, but now in his sixties his days as a heart-throb were over. Co-starring with Newman in this film was Tom Cruise (looking incredibly baby-faced) as a young hot-shot pool player whom Newman takes under his wing. Cruise would of course go on to become one of the biggest stars on the planet, and if he hasn't yet equalled Newman's status as an artist, he's certainly a recognizable figure.

In The Color of Money, Fast Eddie is now a successful liquor salesman. He backs pool players much the way George C. Scott did in The Hustler. He circumspectly refers back to the old days, saying he was "retired." One wonders whether a few minutes after the end of the The Hustler was when the "retirement" by Scott's goons took place. Newman spots Cruise's talent when the young man takes apart Newman's boy, John Turturro. Just by hearing the sound of Cruise's break Newman knows he's got the talent. However, Cruise is a flake, doesn't understand that sometimes it's better to lose than win, and let's his ego get in the way of a hustle. Newman appeals to Cruise's girlfriend, Mary Elizabeth Mastroantonio, who he can see has a more fiduciary eye. They all go on the road to win some money in pool halls before a competition in Atlantic City.

What's interesting about this picture is that is in a completely different tone and style than The Hustler. Scorsese, a man well known for being reverent to the past, is smart not to attempt to reproduce Robert Rossen's work in The Hustler. After all, it is twenty-five years later. This film is in color, for starters, and also deals with a different game: nine-ball instead of straight pool. As Newman says, nine-ball appeals to the younger generation, because it's shorter, better suited for TV, and relies heavily on luck (you can win by sinking the nine-ball on the break). Newman likens the differences between nine-ball and straight pool to checkers and chess.

Though Scorsese makes this picture his own, that's not all good news. At times his camera is a bit too enthusiastic. He frequently uses one his favorite tactics--360 movement, and often has the camera right on the felt of the table, employing close-ups of the balls. I suspect there were some special effects involved, and I just didn't find it necessary. I did like a very subtle and well-acted scene in which Newman, the old pro, gets hustled by a kid played by Forest Whitaker.

There are a lot of good performances in the film. Mastroantonio, who got an Oscar nomination, gives a very canny read on the girlfriend, who understands what Newman wants, and realizes that Newman sees her as a kindred soul. It doesn't hurt that she's also sexy as hell, especially during a sequence in which she tries to establish power over Newman by flirting with him. Cruise has a lot of his youthful exuberance, like the roles he played in Top Gun and Cocktail, but holds his own playing against Newman. And as for Newman, this may not have been his greatest performance (I'd go with The Verdict) but when it comes to Oscars these things don't always work out that way. But it's a terrific performance, mostly reactive and subtle. And what cinemaphile didn't get a rush back in '86 when, about half-way through the film, Newman picks up a cue and shoots the break?